Xavier Moon: "I’m happy to be back"

Blue-whites guard Xavier Moon has returned to the team and gave an in-depth interview exclusively for Zenit TV. We talked with him about recovering from injury, the recent successes of the St. Petersburg team, his signature catchphrase, the final series against CSKA, and much more.

— Xavier, we're glad to see you here again. What's up? How are you?

— I'm good, man. Can't complain. Happy to be back. Surgery went well, recovery going well, so it's good to be back, man.

— Tell us, how is your rehabilitation going?

— Pretty good. Obviously, it'll be three months on the 11th of June, but I'm feeling really good, moving really well. So, hopefully, everything keeps going to course.

— When will you be able to practice without any restrictions?

— I wish it was tomorrow (laughs), but maybe September, October. September will be six months. So, hopefully, six months I'm able to get back on the court, no restrictions, and then either a month or two after that, then I hope all the rains be taken off and they tell me I can get back to it.

— Did you follow all our games while you were in the U.S.?

— Of course. I watched every one. Every one, like once I got back to the U.S. — the playoffs, the semifinals, watched the game last night before I took off. So I've definitely been keeping up with the team.

— Zenit set a new VTB United League record with 25 consecutive wins. How impressive is that in your opinion?

— I mean, hopefully, we can cap it off with a championship. Other than that, man, I'm not surprised. Obviously, I played with the team up until January, so I'm not surprised about the success that we had.

— This season has been exceptional, because you, Trent Frazier and Dwayne Bacon were all named players of the month in VTB. What do you think about that?

— It just goes to show the guys that we have on this team, man, the talent, the work that we put in every day. So happy for them. Made sure that I told both of them that I was proud of them. And like I said, got to cap it off with this championship.

— Dwayne Bacon was named MVP of the season, and Xavi Pacual became Coach of the Year. Were those awards expected in your eyes?

— For me, yeah, absolutely. He's been the best player the whole year, so I wasn't expecting anything different. Obviously, when I found out, I told him congrats. Proud of him for that. And then, obviously, Xavi being the Coach of the Year, that's not surprising either.

— What has been the most remarkable moment of the playoffs so far?

— The most remarkable? I don't know, because there have been so many memories, so many moments. There have been so many moments that stand out. I don't think I can just choose one. I don't know, man, because it's been a team effort. So I feel like every win that we got is a moment. So I'm going to just say every win that we've gotten in the playoffs has definitely been a moment.

— What were your thoughts when we came to Game 7 against Loko?

— Shouldn't have been Game 7. I'll say that first. But I had no doubts in my mind that we were going to get it done. And they did just that. Sometimes it takes a little longer to get it done and unfortunately we had to go seven games with Loko who's a very good team but I'm happy that we came out on top.

— What are your expectations for Game 2 against CSKA and the whole series?

— I'm expecting us to come out with a win. Obviously yesterday didn't go as planned. Much better start tomorrow I'm pretty sure that and then we'll get the job done tomorrow.

— Will you attend all the upcoming games in the final series?

— I'll be there. Yes, sir.

— Will we watch together from the standings in Moscow?

— Absolutely.

— What did Xavi say when you came back to the locker room?

— Obviously, he still has some emotions from yesterday, but just ask me how my recovery was going, how I feel mentally. We had a pretty good conversation before practice started. So happy to see him, happy to see everybody man and hopefully we can get his win tomorrow.

— Hopefully we will, because, as you said, “my ne lykom shity” (In Russian, this is an idiom that means that you are not as simple as you seem, and you will not yield to others). Do you remember that?

— Yeah (laughs).

— Did you said these words to somebody in U.S.?

— Absolutely, because I wore the shirt. I got the shirt, so everybody asked me what it meant. So, I got a lot of people back at home that want a shirt.

— Has your pronunciation improved since then?

— "My ne lykom shity", yeah. You know what I'm saying. Hey, man, I'm part Russian, so I really should get a passport (laughs).

— Really? Well, we appreciate it. Do you like how Okaro White and Alexey Shved have performed since joining Zenit?

— Absolutely. A big addition to the team. Obviously, after I got hurt and Omari parted ways with the team, they were big additions, man. I think they were a part of the success that we had as a whole. So, I couldn't be happier for those guys.

— If you would nickname Okaro, is he a brave part of someone else? You know, he lost some of his teeth in Krasnodar.

— No, I didn't know that. Oh, man, that's crazy. That shows you the game of basketball, man, is a tough sport.

— What would you like to say to all our fans right now?

— I missed them too. It's been crazy not being able to play these last couple months. Obviously, going through stuff at home and dealing with this injury, but I'm happy to be back, ready to see all the fans tomorrow, man. And I'll be cheering just as loud as they are to help the team get the win tomorrow.